Walt Disney World’s Land Pavilion is home to one of our go-to quick service spots in Epcot’s Future World — Sunshine Seasons — but upstairs from Living with the Land is one of my favorite underrated character meals: Garden Grill. It’s here, in a rotating restaurant, that diners meet Disney character friends, dine on some really great grub, and get a bird’s eye view of the attraction below. It’s truly one-of-a-kind.

Garden Grill

Remember, at Garden Grill, always ask for a booth versus a table. I just think they’re more fun, plus your view of the Livin’ With The Land attraction scenes below is much better with a booth!

Booth Seating Facing The Land Attraction

Table Seating

Garden Grill Characters

Before we get into the food, let’s say hello to some friends. Garden Grill is home to Farmer Mickey who always looks sharp in his overalls and plaid!

It’s time to Get Your Ears On at Award Wieners in Disney California Adventure Park — and this time, it’s gonna get cheesy! As it should when we’re celebrating Mickey and Minnie Mouse, right? Award Wieners has two options: A Cheesy Celebration and More Cheese Please!

In the pantheon of inspired restaurants at Walt Disney World, Jiko — The Cooking Place has been at the top and at the bottom for me over the past few years. I’ve had excellent meals there, and I’ve had ho-hum meals there. So let’s see how this one turns out!

This Signature table service spot is located on the lower level of Animal Kingdom Lodge, across from Boma, the resort’s popular African- and Indian-inspired buffet. (Incidentally, if you’re looking for AKL’s quick service restaurant, The Mara, you’ll also access that through the lower level, too.)

Jiko has been a guest favorite for years. The menu is a celebration of the many and varied food traditions of the African continent, employing high-end ingredients and traditional African components to create a unique (in Disney World anyway) dining experience for guests.

And while Jiko’s menu features a selection of meat dishes (you’ll see several examples below), vegan and vegetarian diners may be offered a variety of choices on a separate menu, so be sure to ask.

We’ll be the first to admit we love the new tater tot based menu at Friar’s Nook in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, but as much as we enjoy the tots, we were missing this location’s Mac and Cheese — and many of you told us you missed it too!

We have good — no, make that GREAT — news for you! Mac and Cheese dishes are back at Friar’s Nook — and with a tater tot twist.

Friar’s Nook

We couldn’t stop ourselves, before we knew it we had these new Mac and Cheese items in our hands!

But the opportunity to dine with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger is pretty much a Disney World rite of passage and something that every Disney fan should do at least once. And dining in the Crystal Palace — a gorgeous building that’s been a mainstay since Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 — is a lovely experience.

But what about the food — arguably the most important aspect of any restaurant? It’s standard, but acceptable on most visits, with breakfast having, perhaps, the most interesting options with Pooh’s Breakfast Lasagna and Puffed French Toast being crowd favorites. And so I returned recently, for lunch this time, to see how things are going.

Disney food friends, this is an urgent message — an urgent PIZZA message for those visiting Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom between now and September 5! You must make your way to Pinocchio Village Haus for a truly awesome flatbread that a cast member tells me will only be available until next week!

Pinocchio Village Haus

The Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Flatbread is the flatbread of the month at Pinnochio Village Haus. It starts with a crispy flatbread crust and is topped with sour cream, macaroni and cheese, three cheese blend, chives, and crumbled bacon bits!

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Flatbread

This is a seriously delicious — and seriously filling — flatbread that combines some of my favorite things! The sour cream is an inspired choice of “sauce” that gives the whole thing a tangy, addictive quality (as if the three cheese blend and bacon weren’t irresistible enough!). But even if you’re not a huge Sour Cream fan, the whole thing blends together so well that it won’t stand out to you.

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Flatbread

The macaroni and cheese is made with soft elbow noodles that contrast with the crispy crust (baked to golden brown!) and the chewy bacon bits.

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Flatbread

The whole thing is basically a savory delight, complete with the bright green chives which provide a welcome, fresh respite from the intensely (ahhh-mazingly) salty, cheesy flatbread.

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Flatbread

This one is SO. GOOD.! I’m bummed that this seasonal flatbread will be gone on September 5 because it’s something I would totally get again and again if it was a permanent part of the menu. Here’s hoping it’s popular enough to become a recurring special addition!

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And that’s where Diamond Horseshoe stands today: it’s open seasonally and with limited hours (typically 1PM to 7PM), serving table service eats with both an a la carte and all-you-care-to-enjoy menu. And with the advent of the 2018 Disney Dining Plan’s alcohol-included policy, diners can now enjoy a glass of wine or beer with their meals as well.

But with the cycles of Diamond Horseshoe’s menu life seemingly always up in the air, this Magic Kingdom staple has maintained its Old West style and laid back atmosphere. And after my most recent visit, I might say that’s the best thing Diamond Horseshoe has going for it.

Diamond Horseshoe

Atmosphere

Diamond Horseshoe is a rootin’, tootin’ kind of spot, holding fast to its frontier styling in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland. And we love it for that.

We’re baaaaaack with more What’s New! This time we’re at Disney’s Hollywood Studios where the Incredibles are popping up everywhere and at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort where tower construction is well on its way! So c’mon!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Updates

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Menus and Eats

It’s hot in central Florida, and it isn’t cooling off any time soon. So you’ll want to keep your cool by sipping on a Strawberry Lemonade with an optional shot of Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum. We found this at the popcorn cart to the left of the Chinese Theater.